My first visit to NYC and my first meal @ "The Chicken and Rice Cart"

It's funny how I've lived in Toronto for ten years and have not visited New York City once. This time however I finally made it a point to do so as Zhao Kun and I flew from Vancouver to the Empire State for a four day visit.

We checked in Sheraton Times Square at around 11pm and thought of resting up for the next day. With our stomachs growling on a Friday Night we decided to get a quick bite and check out Times Square, which was just a couple of minutes walk from our hotel.





Just outside our Hotel we spotted our first Cart Vendor which was selling Halal Food that included Burgers, Hotdogs and a platter of Chicken and/or Lamb Gyros with Rice. This may sound a little ignorant but I expected to see a million Hot Dog stands similar to those in Toronto but this wasn't the case because the next cart around the South West Corner of our Hotel on 53rd Street and 7th Avenue was another Halal Food Cart selling Chicken and/or Lamb with Rice!




Since there were two carts next to our Hotel we decided to try both ordering the same dish of Chicken and Lamb on Rice that was dressed with a combination of White Sauce and Hot Sauce. Although both carts were serving Chicken and Lamb on Rice they both differ a little. The cart right in front of our Hotel had a Greek Influence serving Chunks of Marinated Chicken Dark Meat and Lamb Gyros with Pilaf Rice.



The cart on the South West Corner of 53rd and 7th Ave. had a Middle Eastern flair with minced Chicken and minced Lamb Meat that was served on a Saffron or Turmeric Basmati Rice.

Both were seriously delicious! But I liked the cart that was right in front of our Hotel preferring their choice of using strips of Chicken Dark Meat over minced Chicken Meat. Furthermore somehow their Chicken had a much better flavor. The Lamb Gyros was a little dry but this was solved with the delicious combination of White Sauce and Hot Sauce that was drenched on top of the meats.



It was sad I never thought of taking photos of the food we ate that night because it was just so freaking good! I craved for it so much that it was also my last meal in NYC where I managed to take shots of the food and cart of my favorite of the two which was the cart just right outside Sheraton New York.

I loved it so much that I did more research on the Internet and found out Chicken and Rice is one of the "must eat dishes" in NYC especially the cart on 53rd and 6th Ave., which draws a huge lineup every night and was ranked fifth on Trip Advisor's best restaurants in NYC. Some claim that the one we had on the South West Corner of 53rd Street and 7th Ave is actually a branch of the "Famous Chicken and Rice Cart" because they shared the same logo, bags and color.

Anyone coming to NYC you should make short culinary trip to sample some "Chicken and/or Lamb with Rice" when visiting the Times Square Area. The food is cheap and it's really good! The next time I'm back in NYC 53rd and 6th Ave., will be my first culinary food stop!

Food: 4.6/5
Ambiance: N/A (Food Cart with no seats)
Service: N/A
Price: $ (USD $6-USD $7 per person)

Contact Information
Address: Outside Sheraton Times Square and the other on the Southwest Corner of 53rd Street and 7th Avenue
Tel: N/A
Map:

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